On Tap: Durango Breweries Serve Up The Suds

Colorado and beer. The two go hand-in-hand. Just look at the list of brewers that call Colorado home (or at least brew beer there): Coors. Budweiser. New Belgium. Oskar Blues. Odell Brewing Co.

Although many of Colorado’s well-known breweries — giant, micro and everything in-between — are found on the northern Front Range, don’t miss out on Durango’s craft and microbreweries that make some of the state’s finest beers.

All of Durango’s craft breweries are close to your room at the Durango Quality Inn: Durango Brewing Co. is less than a block from our hotel, while the farthest, Ska Brewing, is only 4 miles from our doorstep.

Droooooooool.

Carver Brewing Co. — Over the past 30 years, Carver Brothers has transformed from bakery to brewery. The Carver family first opened the Carver Brothers Bakery in 1983 in Winter Park, Colorado, and started the brewery in Durango in 1988. Today, Carver Brewing Co. brews 1,000 barrels of their beers each year (that’s about 31,000 gallons). Carver makes its own lager, amber ale, brown ale, pale ale, wheat ale, IPA and stout. Enjoy a tasting flight, a pint, a pitcher or buy a growler (a refillable jug) to take with you.

Ska Brewing Co. — Two beer-loving guys, Bill Graham and Dave Thibodeau, started Ska Brewing in Durango in 1995. The brewery, which is 100 percent wind-powered, has been at its location in Bodo Industrial Park since 2008, where visitors will find a beer garden, live music and events like “Happy Hour Yoga.” Ska uses bottles but is also one of the few microbreweries to use cans. Ska makes more than a dozen brews but be sure to try out their flagship beers like True Blonde Ale, Ten Pin Porter and Steel Toe Stout.

Steamworks Brewing Co. — Steamworks opened its door in Durango in 1996, and the brewpub has been a favorite gathering place and watering hole for locals and visitors ever since. The downtown brewery has more to offer than brews with names like Tax Alement, Prescribed Burn and Third Eye P.A.; Steamworks also dishes up gastropub fare that features locally sourced meats, healthy salads, delicious pizzas and Southwestern-style dishes.

Durango Brewing Co. — Founded in 1990, Durango Brewing Co. is Colorado’s third-oldest microbrewery — and it’s less than a block from our hotel. In 2007, the brewery added its Tap Room, which is open seven days a week as a place for guests to sample (or swig) award-winning beers such as Derail Ail, Durango Amber Ale, Durango Dark Lager, Durango Wheat Beer and Durango Golden Ale. Durango Brewing Co.’s beers can also be found at most Durango-area restaurants, bars and even on board the Durango & Silverton train.